Introduction

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The article considers the activities of a hiking club in relation to adventure education and the didactic thinking behind the activities.  The club is for the 7th-9th graders at a comprehensive school in Helsinki. It is based on openness, community, inclusion, and the growth of young people into humanity and self-reliance in a society built on democracy and equality. The camping club offers goal-oriented non-formal learning as a counterbalance to formal school learning. Informal learning takes the form of the accumulation of hiking skills, as well as other competencies needed in one’s life. Continuity and repetition are the most important means to achieve pedagogical goals.

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The openness of the program and familiar hiking places promote adolescents’ own thinking and creation of their own insights. Young city people learn to use the opportunities offered by the surroundings. All the above-mentioned support the integration of young people, also from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, to the society. Even pupils, who withdraw themselves at school or behave in a disruptive manner, are invited to participate.

 

1. Hiking club as adventure education

 

The hiking club was started in 1999 and the 75th celebration trip was held in May 2019. There are yearly four established destinations: in August and May seashores, and in early October and March forests. In the beginning the teachers had their own experiences of scouting and nature clubbing in mind, as well as views on the active learner and the importance of experiences in nature for the development of the connectedness to nature, as well as, for the growth of the overall personality. The starting point was not adventure education, although the idea had landed in Finland in the early 1990s [1]. In this presentation, adventure education is understood as pedagogical, goal-oriented activity that supports an individual's multidimensional, reflective educational process in an experience-producing environment [2]. From the beginning, an important goal has been to support the school culture and education at school.

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The purpose is not to seek challenging experiences but a slow-paced togetherness, a lingering time to tune in to see what is going on around you, and a time to enjoy the peace of nature. The perspective is closer to experiential pedagogy with its functional wide-ranging methods than adventure education offering more surprise and adventurous activities [1], [3], [4]. activities are in line with the adventure education network's idea that the development and learning of young people are supported by comprehensive experiences and challenges in genuine environments, as well as by interactions between other members of the group [5]. Positive experiences and experiences of studying in nature are also strongly involved in the didactics of biology [6].

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1. A practical approach

Didactics of the club activities emphasize the relationship between students and the learning environment provided by nature and designed by teachers for large groups. Learning and growth are supported in a learning environment where unnoticed, informally, and non-formally, new things are learned, utilizing one’s enormous ability to learn by imitation.

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During the trip, teachers are supposed to act unobtrusively in the background and be able to give up their desire to control the situation. The main task is to ensure safety and guide the communal learning process. This requires teachers to consider both the effects of different objectives as a whole and the details from the perspective of the goals, both before and during the trip. It is challenging to reconcile the openness of the learning process with adequate guidance, as the amount of guidance need by different individuals varies. However, it is useful for the teachers to see and interact with their pupils in different and even more leisured situations.

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Teachers are required to have the sensitivity to the atmosphere of the group and the ability to direct unobtrusively activities to the right path. The emphasis on openness and low thresholds led to some students to join in later or leave earlier because of important games, rehearsals, grandma’s birthdays, etc. This became an inconvenience because the newcomers were at a different level of the atmosphere than others. They had not shared the experiences during the journey and had difficulties in tuning in with group activities with others. Those arriving late or leaving early rode in their own vehicles, causing envy in others who dragged their heavy loads along the side of the road. As a result, openness was compromised for the sake of a leisured atmosphere and the sense of community. Now everyone travels together as own transports had to be banned. In this way, students learn to make choices - not everything should fit into one weekend.

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Since the outing sites are situated close by, students get used to travelling by public transportation and are reminded about the impact of everyday choices on the load on the environment. Also, they learn to take other passengers into account. Despite good instructions, it is essential to monitor littering and the amount and sorting of waste.

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The students prepare for the hike in voluntary groups living in the same tent. They arrange their accommodation as well as meals for themselves. This creates natural situations to discuss cooking and healthy nutrition both at home when buying groceries and during the trip with teachers. At first, ready-made and quick-to-prepare pasta dishes are popular, but as skills and motivation increase, students move to more varied meals as they imitate the meals of more experienced hikers.

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Another example of changing the rules was the extremely free daily programme. There is no specific time to go to bed nor to wake up in the mornings, so the long mornings and total inaction during the day created tense and aggravated atmosphere. For this reason, mandatory daily hike was added to the program. Usually older students create a path with various tasks on the way, which brings peace and serenity to the second day of the trip. Besides the hike, students can build a programme based on their own needs, although teachers and older students throw ideas for others to grab, such as finding a nearby cave or watching the stars. Sometimes giggling in the tent is the best way of connecting for the 7th-graders, the next time a longer day hike or rock climbing will produce the best results. The funniest innovations have been the use of tarpaulins as sails to tow a sled on sunny ice and walking barefoot on hot coals.

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Adolescents get excited about community-building, physical contact games. The games are guided by older students and / or the accompanying scouts. Teachers are meant to stay in the background but on the other hand be involved. Games are voluntary, but teachers encourage less enthusiasts to participate. At first many students follow the games from aside but later they join in.

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Continuity, regularity, and openness of club activities are essential to achieve pedagogical goals. Annual recurring excursions give students ownership of the excursions. Students know in advance what to expect and what opportunities the places offer and can talk about all these during the school year. Creativity and new perspectives are fostered by informal learning in a new environment. This is supported by inaction, even boredom, which brings peace and tranquillity to their lives. Besides, this attracts young people to develop their own activities. Their insights are promoted by the openness of the programme and hiking in familiar places so that in addition to mere survival, there is room for own free thinking.

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The transition of adolescence towards independence is characterized by the search for oneself and the reflection of own existence. The activities of the hiking club offer an opportunity for this under the subtle guidance of friends and teachers. Hiking overnight increases understanding of one’s own physical and mental resources and their limits. During the excursions, they learn about group dynamics and their own roles as a group member. At the same time, they take responsibility for themselves, others, and the environment. Friends are helped and help is received. The destinations are close by and can be reached by public transport. [7].

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 Problems provide an opportunity for educational discussions

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Adventure education includes planned challenges that support growth and development. The activities and learning environments of the hiking club are also built on this basis. Personal growth and development require opportunities to make mistakes. It is up to the adults to make sure that the consequences are not too serious. Although drug-free behaviour is a prerequisite for safe hiking and is required by law, young people are experimenting with their limits. Yet, on more than seventy outings, only a few times have intoxicants caused problems. Young people who have consumed alcohol have had to be sent home for safety reasons, or in some cases, the matter has only been clarified with the guardians after the trip. Such situations provide a great opportunity to discuss substance abuse with adolescents.

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3. Values ​​and wide-ranging competencies

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The values underlying education and training must be reflected in the school's goals and operating culture and thus guide didactic solutions. The hiking club increases social skills, especially a sense of community and inclusion, as well as strengthens self-esteem and self-awareness. In biology, this is supported by studying in the school garden, in the nearby forest, on the shores of the Baltic Sea and a nearby pond, as well as by swamp and bird trips.

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The operation of schools is based on legislation. In the core curriculum [8], broad-based competencies mean entities formed by knowledge, skills, values, attitudes, and will. The aim is to support self-knowledge, growing up as a person, membership of a democratic society, and a sustainable lifestyle. Students are encouraged to identify their own special qualities, strengths, and opportunities for development, and to value themselves. In the following, five broad sets of competencies are considered in relation to the activities of the hiking club.

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Thinking and learning to learn

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The activities of the hiking club emphasize collaboration, enthusiasm, and an exploratory approach. Doing well on excursions increases confidence in one's own abilities, strengthens ability to function, and be involved. Activities inspire to listen to the views of others and to support and encourage them. On the trips, relaxed atmosphere, plays and games, physical activity, and learning by doing promote the joy of learning and reinforce creative thinking. The ethical aspects of the trips are related to, among other things, responsibility, caring for others and a sustainable lifestyle.

 

Cultural competence, interaction and expression

 

In the hiking club, students learn to know and appreciate their own environment, aesthetic nature experiences, and build a positive environmental relationship. Students develop their social skills in different situations and see the importance of interaction for their own development. From the coexistence of different aged children, young adults and middle-aged people, students gain perspectives to reflect on their place in the chain of generations. Hiking encourages the use of imagination, ingenuity and doing things by hand, both in terms of food culture and otherwise.

 

Self-care and other everyday skills

 

During the excursions, students take responsibility for common daily activities and schedules and practice a sustainable lifestyle. The activities of the club are based on reasonableness, sharing, and frugality. Students recognize the importance of human relationships and mutual care and develop self-regulation and emotional skills. The experienced hikers help younger students to set up tents, use camping stoves, and cook food. Everyone contributes to the well-being and safety of oneself and others through one’s actions. The general idea of helping others creates security. In hiking, one learns to anticipate dangerous situations and act appropriately in them.

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The physical condition of children and adolescents has deteriorated over the past couple of decades. Excursions offer different movers challenges to maintain physical activity, get used to exercising outdoors in nature, create the ability to find the joy of exercise, and guide them to appreciate and control their own body.

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Working life skills and entrepreneurship

 

When hiking, students work independently and together with others, systematically and long-term, outlining their own tasks as part of a whole. Together, they learn reciprocity, effort, and perseverance to achieve a common goal. At the same time, they learn to anticipate difficulties and face failures and disappointments. Hiking encourages us to be open to new opportunities and to act flexibly and creatively. Assessing risks and taking them in a controlled way becomes familiar.

 

Participating, influencing and building a sustainable future

 

Community and inclusion are based on openness and equality. Everyone must be able to be part of the community despite their backgrounds and characteristics. All this supports the development of self-knowledge, self-esteem and social skills and prevents exclusion. In hiking club, this is supported as follows: You can register for the excursion only a few days before departure. Self-awareness grows as you evaluate your abilities and aspirations and test them on the trip. For teachers, this requires work and requires the ability to tolerate clutter. Camping equipment is cheap and can also be borrowed. Excursion destinations are close by and food affordable. Openness is also brought about by participating former students, other teachers, school caretakers, and their children.

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4. Dissemination of innovation

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The importance of protecting the environment opens through a personal relationship with nature. Through experience, we learn to influence, make decisions, and take responsibility. We learn the importance of rules, agreements, and trust, and to express our own views constructively. Besides, there are opportunities to practice negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution.

Since we have seen the huge impact of the hiking club on the lives of many young people, we have wanted to spread the idea to others by writing about the topic and telling about the club on various occasions. We have also provided an opportunity to get to know the activities of the club so that the threshold for going to the forest regularly with young people is lowered. [9]. Nevertheless, other schools have not taken up this innovation.

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We have considered the reasons why the innovation has not spread to new schools. First, few teachers themselves enjoy camping, let alone staying in the woods in bad weather. Second, an additional challenge is to start with students in an open learning environment where it is difficult to control their actions. Third, there must be several enthusiastic teachers in the school because running the club alone is too much of a burden. Fourthly, there are already hiking courses in schools and there is no strength for more trips. Fifth, schoolwork has become so stressful that teachers need weekends for rest and recreation unlike fifty years ago, when many schools had a nature club. An essential part of professionalism is to scale operations according to resources and one's own resilience. It is better to settle for a reasonable result than not to implement a good idea at all.

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There has been serious cooperation with local scout groups helping on the hikes. Many young people give up their scouting hobby when they reach adolescence. From school trips, however, scouts have been able to recruit new members to replace those who have left. [10].

 

Bibliography

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2. Karppinen, S. & Latomaa, T. Seikkaillen elämyksiä III. Suomalainen seikkailupedagogiikka.: Lapin yliopistokustannus. – 2015.

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8. Opetushallitus (2014). Perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelman perusteet 2014. – Access mode: https://www.oph.fi/fi/koulutus-ja-tutkinnot/perusopetuksen-opetussuunnitelmien-perusteet – 1.10.2019.

9. Arino, K. (2018). Nuorten luontosuhteen ja yhteisöllisyyden vahvistaminen retkeilemällä osana kouluopetusta. – Access mode: https://omastadi.hel.fi/processes/omastadi-kokohelsinki/f/28/proposals/1218?component_id=28&locale=sv&participatory_process_slug=omastadi-kokohelsinki&random_seed=-0.541939916575018 – 1.10.2019.

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